The government and PPP unanimously agree on a date after Dar and Aurangzeb held pre-budget talks with the coalition partner.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb hold talks with senior PPP leaders on budget proposals and fiscal priorities ahead of the federal budget. Photo: PID
The government and its coalition partner, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), agreed on Wednesday to recommend to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that the federal budget for the fiscal year 2026-27 be presented on June 10.
According to a statement issued by the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb held a meeting with senior PPP leaders to discuss pre-federal budget consultations.
The statement said discussions focused on current spending and development spending priorities, including the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP), as well as broader economic priorities such as fiscal sustainability, public welfare measures, development initiatives and inclusive growth for fiscal year 2026-27.
“It was unanimously agreed to recommend to Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif that the budget for fiscal year 2026-2027 be announced on Wednesday, June 10, 2026,” the statement read.
Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50 along with Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb today held a meeting with senior leaders of Pakistan People’s Party as part of routine pre-budget consultations ahead of the Federal Assembly… pic.twitter.com/d02o17rqVK
– Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (@DPM_PK) June 3, 2026
The meeting was attended by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, MNA Syed Naveed Qamar, Senator Sherry Rehman, Senator Saleem Mandviwala, Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro, Minister of State for Finance and Railways Bilal Azhar Kayani, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Tariq Bajwa, Federal Secretary Finance Imdadullah Bosal, Chairman Federal Board of Revenue, Rashid Mahmood Langrial, and other senior officials of relevant ministries and departments.
The government had previously planned to present the federal budget on June 5, but delayed the announcement after failing to resolve issues related to spending allocations and address concerns raised by coalition partners.
According to government sources, the budget announcement has been postponed to next week as the government seeks to resolve outstanding issues with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the PPP, whose support remains crucial for the government.
Sources said the federal government was seeking an additional fiscal space of Rs 1.7 trillion from provinces, mainly Punjab and Sindh, for the next fiscal year by adjusting the allocation of the National Finance Commission and transferring some spending responsibilities.
The government also postponed a scheduled meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) amid unresolved issues related to PSDP allocations, subsidies to the electricity sector and the treatment of social security expenditure under the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP).
The CNE meeting, originally scheduled for Wednesday, was expected to approve the national development budget for the Center and the four provinces, along with macroeconomic targets for the next fiscal year. The meeting, which will be chaired by Chief Minister Shehbaz and attended by provincial chief ministers, is likely to be held on Thursday or Friday.
Among the unresolved issues are the size of the development budget for the next fiscal year and the inclusion of development plans proposed by coalition partners.
The PPP and the government have been holding regular consultations to address these issues, including resource distribution and expenditure allocation.
Sources said the federal government also wanted provinces to shoulder at least half of the BISP spending burden, but provincial governments were not willing to take on the additional responsibility.
Another unresolved issue concerns the composition of the divisible federal fund to be shared between the Center and the provinces.
According to government sources, the Ministry of Finance this week sought the consent of the IMF to make adjustments to the main spending items, a few days before the tentative budget presentation date, June 5.
Sources said the IMF was not very receptive to the government’s proposals but asked it to share the proposed spending adjustments along with the rationale behind them.
